


But The Damage Has Been Done Before

by SargeantWoof



Series: An Equilateral Triangle [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Attempting to Deal With Emotions Healthily, Dead Parents Club, Gen, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SargeantWoof/pseuds/SargeantWoof
Summary: Peter gives Tony his Dead Parents Club membership card.This has more of an impact than either were expecting.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: An Equilateral Triangle [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826497
Comments: 11
Kudos: 432
Collections: The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics, The Best of the Best MCU Fics





	But The Damage Has Been Done Before

Peter shifted outside the lab, the weight of his backpack a sudden annoyance. With each weight change, he could feel his binders and notebooks pressing into his spine, the smooth curve of his water bottle inside, various pens and pencils clinking in their pencil bag, and then, so obvious he was surprised no one else could tell, he could feel the two slim cards sliding against each other.

He bit his lip, worrying at the skin, unaware of how concerned Tony was getting inside the lab. He rolled his shoulders back, nodding to himself before he strode forward, the doors sliding open for him immediately. He looked up, locking eyes with Tony and flushing. "Oh- hey," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I- I have something for you."

Tony squinted at him suspiciously. "You have something for me," he parroted back. 

Peter's blush deepened and he dropped his gaze. "I… I did something dumb," Peter said, staring at the ground. "I don't know if it's a good idea."

Tony frowned at him. "I'm sure it's not that bad Pete," he said, gesturing for him to sit down on the couch. "C'mon and sit down and we can talk about it."

Peter sighed, shifting from one foot to another before coming to a conclusion and blurting out, "if it's bad and you hate it- we can never, _ever,_ talk about it again." He fidgeted with his backpack straps for another moment before sighing again. "It's- it might cross a line," he admitted lowly, before looking back up at Tony. "But- but- I want you to know that you _are not alone_ ," he said fiercely before sighing again and pulling his backpack off. He rummaged through the sleeves, taking an extra moment to steel his nerves before he pulled out the cards. He handed one to Tony, closing his eyes to avoid seeing his reaction.

"It's- it's a Dead Parent Club membership card," Peter bit out, his eyes scrunched up. "I have one and it's something I made when I was really little and I just, I dunno, I want you to know that even though I'm dumb and a kid and not that good at anything that- that- I'm here for you Mr. Stark, just like you're here for me. And I- I love you, and I know we say it all the time, but seriously, I cannot imagine my life without you," he gasped out, his breathing shallow. "I just- I care about you _so much_."

"Kid," Tony said gently, after a beat of silence. "Pete," he amended, a faint smile beginning to curl up his face. "I love it."

"You do?" Peter said, astonished, his eyes flying open. "What?"

Tony laughed softly. "Of course I love it," he said, peering back down at the curling font, under the title, proclaiming _I don't have to talk to you, I have dead parents._ "Have you seriously had this since you were little?"

"I- yeah," Peter said, confusion coating his words. "I didn't overstep?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

Tony shook his head, reaching over to tug Peter into a hug, the teen curling his arms around him uncertainly for a beat before he nearly collapsed into Tony's arms. Tony sighed fondly, pressing an absentminded kiss to his curls. "I love you too kiddo," he said. "I don't think you could overstep, even if you tried."

Peter chuckled weakly from inside Tony's circle of arms. "I just- I'm here for you too," he said again, burrowing deeper into Tony's arms. "We're a team," he said so quietly, Tony almost thought he had imagined it.

Tony nodded, pressing his cheek to the top of Peter's head. "A team," he echoed, smiling at nothing. "For good."

"For always," Peter muttered back, his flush staining the tips of his ears, even as he hid his face in Tony's chest. "A team for always."

***

"Rhodey!" Tony called gleefully, striding across the floor as he caught sight of him, ignoring the fact that the man he had been talking to had been in the middle of a sentence. "It's been too long," he said, yanking Rhodey into a hug. "How've you been?"

Rhodey rolled his eyes but bore the hug with grace. "You saw me last week, you idiot," he said fondly. "What was the rush to see me this time," he asked lowly.

Tony sighed, the sound only audible because they were still embracing before he pulled away. "Just another person asking me to rethink the whole weapons schtick." He glanced over his shoulder, taking in the disgruntled glare he was being given before turning back to Rhodey.

Rhodey arched an eyebrow at the man, hiding a smirk when he immediately averted his eyes. "Doesn't look like too much of a problem to me."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I almost whipped out my Club card and that would've gone over awfully," he said, snagging a glass of champagne from a waiter traversing the floor of the Met Museum. Rhodey took one as well, furrowing his brow at Tony, who shrugged. "You know, my Dead Parents Club card."

Rhodey blinked at him for a moment before grabbing his elbow and steering them into an alcove.

  
"If you wanted to get me alone, honey-bear," Tony said, smirking at him from over the rim of his glass. "You could've just asked." He winked at him, sighing when Rhodey just stared at him. "Okay," he said, his smirk fading. "What's happened now?"

"What- what's happened now?" Rhodey spluttered, shaking his head. "You're getting fucking hate mail about being an _orphan_ now? Who the hell is targeting you? Do you have their address?"

"Whoa!" Tony said, taking a step back and frowning. "It's not- it's not _hate mail_ , it's a club membership."

"About your dead parents?" Rhodey said, his eyes dark and angry. "That's- Tony- I put up with a lot of your awful self-image issues, and I know that we rarely speak about your parents, especially now, but you- you can't hold that as your fault or let- or let dumb _idiots_ make you a part of their club for orphans. Tony," he said, staring directly into Tony's wide eyes. "What the _hell."_

Tony stared at him for a beat before he set his champagne glass down and grabbed his elbow, tugging him from their alcove and through the floor, uncaring of the mutters he got as he pushed through. Rhodey followed behind him, attempting to both apologize profusely and detangle his arm without causing a scene.

Tony slowed when he got the two of them outside and glanced in the front of the car to make sure Happy was driving before he yanked the door open and shoved Rhodey in unceremoniously.

"Tony," Rhodey said, his eyebrows raised. "Was that really necessary?"

"Well," Tony said, getting in beside him and slamming the door shut. He paused, nodding to Happy as the car started and pulled away from the curb, before turning back to Rhodey. "Considering what I'm about to tell you is a minor state secret, yes."

"A minor state secret?" Rhodey said, disbelief plastered across his face. "For the last time- Governor Cuomo is not trying to have you killed off-" he cut himself off, his eyes growing wider. "Wait, did he send you the club card?"

"What?" Tony snapped, staring at him. "No- that's not, you're as bad as the fucking kid." He shook his head, frowning at him before he muttered. "And Cuomo is _definitely_ trying to kill me."

Rhodey sighed, leaning back against the leather seats as he watched Tony before he narrowed his eyes leaning forward. "Wait- did the kid- Peter, right? - give you the card?" Tony nodded and Rhodey breathed in deeply. "I'm so sorry Tones, I know you really cared about him, that's so shitty."

Tony stared at him. "I think we've got our wires crossed." He shook his head again, holding up a hand to stop Rhodey from talking. "He's in the club too, Rhodey." Rhodey's mouth snapped shut and he stared at Tony. "He made the club up when he was a kid and he gave me a membership card this past week," Tony said, his voice growing fonder the longer he spoke. "He- it was his attempt at giving me a get out of jail card but also him saying I wasn't alone." He met Rhodey's eyes. "And I know that that probably sounds insane but," he shrugged. "It's a comfort, knowing I'm not alone, even though I never really was to begin with."

"Oh," Rhodey said after a beat, slowly relaxing. "I- oh."

"Yeah," Tony said quietly, before shooting him a glare. "And what self-esteem issues are you even talking about?" Rhodey shook his head, still processing everything Tony had just said, as Tony sighed and turned to look out the window, giving them both a moment to collect their thoughts.

"He's a good kid," Tony said after a few minutes had passed. "And, I know what you mean about me but, I wouldn't let something like this happen unless I was okay with it," he said softly. "Just trust me."

"I do," Rhodey said after a beat. "I promise."

***

"Tony, I need you to sign off on these," Pepper said, coming into the kitchen where Tony was standing, staring blank-faced at the coffee machine. "I need them signed by tomorrow at the latest." Tony's gaze flickered to her for a beat before he slid his hand into his jeans pocket, pulling out his club card and setting it down on the counter with a snap.

Pepper sighed. "I should've expected this sooner, rather than later," she said. "But I really just need your signatures, I promise, just those, and then you're good to go for the rest of the day."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her, but sighed, grabbing his mug from the coffee machine and settling onto one of the kitchen counter stools. "I'm just glad that you didn't think I was getting hate mail and enjoying it," he muttered, uncapping a pen with his teeth, and flipping through the stack of paperwork before him.

"Yes," Pepper said fondly, smoothing her hand over one of his scruffy cheeks. "Jim did tell me about that whole mishap."

"Mishap," Tony muttered, scrawling his signature at the bottom of the page before roughly flipping the paper over. "He thought that Peter would seriously do something awful like that."

"Well," Pepper said pragmatically. "He hasn't met Peter for real, now has he?" Tony blinked at her, surprise causing him to smear ink across the paper. Pepper tsked. "Come on now, that wasn't a surprise to you." She looked up from the mess to watch Tony's face. "Wait," she said slowly. "Jim hasn't met Peter yet?"

Tony shrugged, focusing on nothing. "I guess he never got a formal introduction," he said. "After the airport, things were a mess - between us and then there was the whole suit thing with Peter so - I guess it just never happened."

Pepper sniffed, gathering up the documents from the granite countertop. "You need to make that happen," she said, before grinning at him. "But on one condition, I want to be there."

"Deal," Tony said, before reaching out and snagging her wrist as she went to leave the room. "Love you," he said softly, reeling her back towards himself and dropping a kiss on her shoulder. "I'd be bereft without you."

Pepper rolled her eyes but let a fond smile tug up her lips. "Back-atcha hotshot," she said, leaving his embrace and the room, her heels echoing around her as she left.

Tony grinned at her back, sighing into his mug. "Fri," he said. "Find a space in Rhodey's schedule to meet the kid."

***

"Tony," May said slowly. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Tony blinked at her for a beat before shaking his head and getting up from the couch inside the Parker's apartment. "Nope," he said. "I'm not- we're not doing this."

May arched an eyebrow, rising to her feet as well. "You're not going to say anything about it?" She asked. "Are you serious?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Tony said, rubbing his hand over his face before a small grin stole across his face. "And, I don't have to talk about this- I have a card."

"A card?" May said, after a beat. "What kind of a card? A get out of jail free card?"

"No," Tony said, pulling out his wallet and yanking a card from a sleeve. "A dead-parents club card." He flashed it at May. "It's custom-made by someone we know."

May raised an eyebrow at the card, before reaching into her pocket. "Oh," she said, a smirk curling up her lips. "Oh, but Tony, you've just met the original chair of that club," she said, yanking out her own membership card. "You didn't think you were the original member did you?" She clucked her tongue at his gobsmacked face. "We've had these cards for years," she said, a soft smile on her face. "Pete asked if we knew anyone who had parents who had died three weeks after we got the news." She shook her head, her glasses slipping down her nose. "He was shocked when I told him mine had died when I was his age too- demanded we make cards on the spot so that we would have a way of knowing that about each other."

Tony blinked at her, pulling the card back closer to himself and re-examining it. "I didn't realize it was so-"

"Personal?" May finished, smiling at him as she pushed her glasses up. "He had very strict parameters when he originally made it, you know. Only those worthy of it could join. Your parents couldn't just be dead." She sighed. "I'm not surprised exactly that he decided to give you one, just that it did happen now, if that makes sense?"

Tony breathed for a minute, keeping his eyes on the slip of cardstock in his hands. "He- he gave it to me the week after Steve- Rogers- was unearthed in Wakanda."

May patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah," she said softly. "That would do it."

"It- it would?" Tony said uncertainly, his eyes darting up to meet hers.

"Yeah," May said. "He's trying to protect you as much as he can- and," she added a tinge of bitterness to her voice. "My guess is it was also a neat way for him to throw the video back in the Captain's face."

"Oh," Tony said before snapping his head up. "I didn't- I don't shit talk Rogers around him. I wouldn't- that was between him and I and I wouldn't give Pete-"

May held up a hand, cutting him off. "I know, Tony, don't worry." She shook her head again. "Pete made up his mind about them ages ago, after Germany." She patted Tony on the shoulder again, smiling gently at him. "Welcome to the club, Tony Stark. We're glad to have you." 

***

Tony stood in the doorway, watching Peter work at his workstation. MJ and Ned had gone home earlier, each of them citing a real reason to leave, but Tony felt as though they had sensed his turbulent emotions and left because they could sense the volatile tension brewing in the lab.

"Pete," Tony said softly, a small grin breaking out at the way he jerked upright in his chair. "Can we talk?"

Peter glanced up at him, grinning back. "Yeah," he chirped, spinning around in his chair and facing Tony. "What's up?"

Tony pulled the Club card out of his pocket, its edges already stain with coffee and grease from him carrying it around each day. "Kid- Pete," Tony said, the words catching in his throat. "I- I'm so honored that you made this card for me." Peter blushed, dropping his gaze to his converse. Tony reached out, cupping his chin and bringing his gaze back up. "This- this is hard for me to say," Tony said. "But it's important to me."

Peter blinked at him, worry suddenly appearing on his face. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What?" Tony said, frowning and dropping his hand from Peter's face. "What- no. No." He drew in a ragged breath. "I know that you, that you've had-" He cut himself off, groaning quietly before nodding once to himself. "I have to tell you something, and if it's overstepping, you can tell me," he said, seriously, his gaze heavy. "I promise I won't be upset."

Peter nodded uncertainly, his face still creased in worry.

"I know that this Club is very important to you, and I know that you have had a wealth of guardians, parents, and the like," he said wincing at his words. "But, well, May and I have been talking and I would be, it would be my honor to become your next guardian in case anything were to happen to May - not," he said firmly. "That anything is happening to her. But, still, yeah, just in case."

Peter stared at him, his face pale. "You'd, you'd do that for me?" He asked quietly. "You'd become my guardian?"

Tony blinked at him. "Shit, have I not made my affection for you clear?"

"Tony," Peter said, his tone the most serious Tony had ever heard it. "There's a huge difference between liking me as your intern and- and- basically agreeing to become my- my- dad, or guardian, or whatever if something happened to May."

"Well," Tony said, swallowing hard. "Of course I want you to stay with me if something were to happen to May," he said. "I already call you my kid, right?" He shrugged, the movement jerky. "Why not make it a little bit more official?"

Peter froze for a moment before nodding once and pushing himself up from the chair to throw himself at Tony. "Whoa!" Tony said, before hugging him back as tightly as he could. "Yeah," he said softly, into Peter's hair. "You're my kid."

**Author's Note:**

> this was very Tony centric, which I really enjoyed. (I hope y'all enjoyed!)
> 
> let me know if you want more like this (or less, or what have you, I'm so open to suggestions you don't even understand)
> 
> I wrote this in under 24 hours too, so if there are any mistakes, I apologize !!


End file.
